Life as LawWife

My first hCG beta blood test was January 21 at just before noon. The result was 362. The second beta was taken January 23 at about 10:30. That result was 792. What’s that mean? Well, at this point, the hCG level should be approximately doubling every 48-72 hours. My levels were doubling about every 42 hours. All’s well!

Yay!!!!!!!!!!

I’m five weeks pregnant today. I’d like to sit & savor that for awhile, but I’m losing brain cells by the minute and have just smoked up my kitchen because I left on the burner under the oil I’d used to fry the lovely crab cakes we bought yesterday. I thought I was turning off that burner and leaving on the one under the green beans. No such luck.

I’m still feeling really good. I need lots of naps and I eat like a newborn (read: extremely frequently). I haven’t slept past 7:00 a.m. since before we tested last weekend, but I have to say that 7:00 is infinitely preferable to waking at 2:30 and staying awake until 4:30 because of needing to snack. I have to eat pretty much as soon as I wake up, and that’s my pre-breakfast snack. And then I have breakfast, followed by a mid-morning snack. I used to delay lunch way too long (like until 4:00, which is silly), but I can barely make it to 12:30 these days. So I eat six to eight times a day, just not a ton of food at any given time.

I had some queasiness yesterday, but I think that was more likely caused by not eating enough in the a.m. I missed my pre-breakfast snack, you see. Today I was totally prepared, though, and I didn’t feel sick at all.

We announced the pregnancy in our Sunday School class this morning, and everyone was so excited for us. And then Pastor David announced it again during the service at Pastoral Prayer time; he and one of the elders prayed over us (and the baby!). It’s so much fun to share our joy with others!

Last night I didn’t sleep very well. I don’t know if it’s all about excitement or if it was anxiety about taking my temp this morning and taking two new tests. At any rate, it wasn’t a restful night. Rambaldi was very restless, too. I finally had to let him out at about 1:30, which is unusual for him. I don’t know what his deal was.

I feel ok so far. My stomach was upset yesterday, but so was D’s, so we’re attributing it to the delicious sandwiches (that were huge and loaded with steak, green peppers, onions, and mushrooms) we had for lunch. My only issue is extreme hunger. I feel like I’m eating all.the.time. I hope this doesn’t bode ill for my total weight gain, but dude, I gotta do what my body’s telling me!

It’s been so awesome to tell our close friends & family! Most of my girlfriends have just burst into tears. Even D’s best man cried when D told him! It’s such a blessing to have such good friends, who truly rejoice when we rejoice.

I thought I should post all my BFPs (big fat positives, for those who aren’t hip to internet speak) in one place. I can’t get over them. And yes, I *do* want to look at them all the time. Why do you ask?

We found out this morning at 13DPO. We’re stunned, mostly, but just freakin’ over the moon, too.

As of August 2006, we had been TTC for four years. Yeah, that’s quite awhile. In that time, I’ve had friends “lap” me (a term I coined to describe when someone has their second or subsequent child while you’re still waiting) and finish their families. I’ve come across women with myriad infertility issues. But I have yet to find someone like me.

Sure, we all have the common bond of a dream unfulfilled. I’m just looking for someone who has my exact issues who succeeded. What does that mean? I’d love to find a woman with PCOS, mild endo, pathetic (if even present) CM, eggs that release “too late,” and who used to have a uterine septum and polyps (now removed). This woman’s husband is completely normal, in my mind. This woman’s experience is basically mine. And I want her to have conceived and given birth, ideally without IVF.

Why? I can read all the live-long day about women who’ve conceived with all manner of IF issues, but until I find this elusive woman, I won’t be completely convinced that it can happen to me. I know it’s possible, theoretically, but I need some empirical evidence! So I comb through IF blogrolls. I scour message boards. And I keep hoping that sometime, I’ll find my standard bearer. And then I can feel just a little bit better about my odds. Until that day, I sit in a sort of limbo. Waiting.